Harry Potter and the Alchemist's Cell
by The Fourth Demension
Summary: Harry's 6th Year at Hogwart's. Building up to a major event! PG-13 for later chapters involving MAJOR deaths, blood, gore, language, sex, and torture.
1. Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff but J.K. Rowling does!  
  
CHAPTER ONE – MEMORIES  
  
Rain poured heavily upon Diagon Alley, drenching its many buildings and inhabitants in water. Inside the Leaky Cauldron, two men were in deep conversation. One was dressed in dark robes, and had messy hair that he had to keep sweeping out of his eyes. His name was Sirius Black. The other man was dressed in shabby robes and had hair that was beginning to grey. This man was Tom the bartender.  
  
Sirius was looking at his feet with a look of grave darkness and he was speaking with a tone of bitterness. "-told me that Harry would have to go live with his Muggle relatives, told me that Dumbledore gave him orders to-"-Sirius burst into mad sobs and tears dripped from his eyes and onto the bar-"-to, and that it was for his own good."  
  
Tom grunted and began to wipe the bar with a pink polka-dotted washcloth as Sirius wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand, and took a great swig from his drink. The mug fell to the bar abruptly and shattered into pieces. Sirius' hand was still raised to his mouth, "YOU!"  
  
Standing in the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron was a certain short plump man with balding hair. A certain man named Peter Pettigrew. Sirius quickly grabbed his wand from his pocket, and pointed it at Pettigrew. Sirius spoke in a slightly trembling voice, "I can't believe what you did. After James and Lily put their trust in you, you betrayed them."  
  
Pettigrew laughed nervously, "Betray? No, it was you who did the betraying."  
  
Sirius snarled dangerously and threw himself at Peter. Peter pulled his wand from his robes and shouted, "STUPEFY!"  
  
Sirius seemed frozen in midair for a split second before he fell backwards into a table. The table collapsed under his weight and both he and the table toppled to the floor. The whole room was now thickly coated in a cloud of dust, and a beam of light erupted from the center of it. There was a loud yelp and Pettigrew was smashed into the wall of the dingy pub. Seconds later, Sirius emerged from the small cloud of dust holding two wands.  
  
"Don't make me do this, Peter. You can either come easily or die a painful death." Sirius glared menacingly at the beaten man on the floor. But to his surprise Pettigrew laughed softly.  
  
"Well, then I choose neither."  
  
Pettigrew transformed into a rat and dashed through Sirius' legs, squeaking madly. Sirius spun around and ran after his rat opponent, leaving a stunned and damaged Leaky Cauldron in his wake.  
  
Sirius and Peter were now standing in the middle of a deserted street in the heart of London. Both looked extremely tired and battered, as their battle had continued for hours. Muggles were now watching curiously from their windows looking onto the street.  
  
Sirius stood clutching his stomach with one hand and the other clinging to the end of his wand. One of his eyes was swollen over by a massive bruise. Peter on the other hand was stammering uncontrollably and was gasping for breath. Blood was flowing unmanaged from his mouth, and one of his fingers on his left hand was nearly completely disconnected from his body. Pettigrew knew it was time for him to reveal his triumph card. Silently, he grabbed a knife from his pocket. Then, quickly, so fast that Sirius didn't notice it, Peter drove the knife into Sirius' wrist. Sirius' wand dropped to the ground and Peter dove for it, narrowly avoiding Sirius's flailing fist. Then with lightning speed, Peter brought the knife down onto his mangled finger.  
  
Blood splattered everywhere, and Peter screamed in pain. Sirius stood speechless, clutching his wrist. Pettigrew pointed his wand at Sirius, "This is for the Potters!"  
  
Peter muttered something under his breath and turned into a rat. Just as the whole street began to crumble apart, he dashed into the darkness, free for another day. Glass shattered, steel melted, and concrete began to disintegrate into dust. Sirius stared in horror at the destruction around him and laughed softly, "So, Pettigrew. You have resorted to the dark arts after all, how pathetic."  
  
With those words, he collapsed onto the bare ground, exhausted, and lifeless.  
  
Sirius was now laying face down in a bare dark cell, Dementors were at the door. Suddenly, a wizard ran into the hall. "We have a problem, Lestrange is attempting to escape again! I need you to follow me at once."  
  
The dementors and the man disappeared from the view of Sirius, and he jumped from his bed. He began to sprout hair from everywhere on his body and slowly he turned into a thin shaggy black dog. He crept to the barred door and squeezed through the bars and into the stony black halls of Azkaban prison. Every wizard in their cells laying sprawled on the floor, looking as if they were on the verge of dying. Quickly, the dog padded through the cell, not daring to look back. Suddenly, a shade of black appeared before him. Its terrible shrieks filled the air, sucking away all hope that any of the prisoners had left in their hearts.  
  
Slowly, the dark shade thickened until it had formed the shape of a tall, thin man. Its eyes full of sorrow and pain, the shade reached towards the dog. The dog backed slowly towards the wall, growling at its new enemy. The dog jumped at its attacker, baring its teeth. Passing through the shade, the dog's eyes went blank and the dog collapsed to the floor. The shade let out one last cry of anguish and disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Grimacing, the dog quickly got up and bounded into the darkness of the corridor.  
  
Sirius and Bellatrix were dueling in the Department of Mysteries. Sirius ducked Bellatrix's jet of red light: He was laughing at her. "Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.  
  
The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest.  
  
The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.  
  
A boy released another from his grasp, and jumped down the steps, pulling out his wand, as an old wizard turned to the dais too.  
  
It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backward through the ragged veil hanging from the arch...  
  
The boy waited anxiously expecting Sirius to rise from behind the curtain. He had already reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps, prepared to pull Sirius from behind the veil. Behind him Bellatrix give a triumphant scream. No matter what he thought, he knew deep down in his heart that Sirius was dead.  
  
Somewhere a man gave a terrible scream. Nothing was visible, for all was dark, but a great pain enveloped him. Someone chuckled, and light flashed briefly, highlighting the dying man's features. He had black hair and a once handsome face that was now pale and thin. Blood poured from his mouth. He was lying sprawled face up on an operating table. His chest was bare and had many cuts on it. The man was moaning miserably, and standing beside the table was a figure cloaked in black, torn, and bloody cloak. Then as fast as the light had come it was gone, leaving a silent darkness after it.  
  
Harry Potter thrust himself from his bed with amazing speed. Sweat was pouring from his face in immense droves, matting his messy black hair over his lightning bolt scar. What was it he had just seen? Then it hit him with its full impact.  
  
"Sirius is being tortured," Harry whispered to himself.  
  
Harry put his hand to his forehead where his scar was. It didn't hurt like it normally would if HE was doing something, and Harry was emptying his mind as to not have anymore of those dreams. But this, this dream had been different. It was as if he was actually reliving Sirius' past and present.  
  
Harry tried to recall the memories and to his surprise he remembered every second of what he had just seen. He suddenly came up with a wonderful yet outlandish idea, "Sirius is still alive!" 


	2. Azkaban

CHAPTER TWO- AZKABAN  
  
Miles away, in a small abandoned castle, a cloaked wizard awoke screaming in pain. This wizard was Voldemort. The door to his chamber burst open as Bellatrix Lestrange ran into the room. "Master? Are you okay?"  
  
Voldemort propped himself up against a wall made of cold hard stone, still gripping his wand in his hand. Slowly, he drew in a shuddering breath and spoke, "Prepare the dementors, the times has come for us to-"- he went suddenly rigid as green blood began to ooze from his mouth-"-begin our plans. Unfortunately, I must remain here. He has awakened from his sleep and I must prepare for it to-"-he paused for a moment as he wiped green blood from his mouth- "begin properly."  
  
Bellatrix wheeled around and stormed out of the room. Voldemort watched as she went and then began to cough more blood.  
  
Harry Potter sat in front of his window, waiting for his owl, Hedwig to return from her midnight flight for food. As soon as the bird returned, Harry would give her the letters he had written for his two best friends, Ron and Hermione. He had also included another letter for Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Down on Privet Drive, one of Mrs. Figg's pet tabby cats cleaned itself on top of his Uncle Vernon's car. The cat was undoubtedly spying on Harry, making sure that he was safe for the time being.  
  
His mind flooded with thought, Harry picked a book up from beneath his loose floor board and began to read it. This was how he had spent most of his time at Privet Drive reading or thinking. The other bulk of his time was spent doing household chores fore his atrocious Aunt and Uncle, the Dursleys. In the next room over, his cousin Dudley snorted in his sleep. At least one thing was different, Harry had thought one day, I'm not isolated from the wizarding world.  
  
By the time he was called downstairs to clean the dishes from the Dursley's breakfast, Harry was halfway done with the book. Silently, he scrubbed the gunk from the plates as the Dursleys watched the television. Then, as he finished washing the last of the cutlery, someone rapped on the door.  
  
"Harry, get that," Uncle Vernon grumbled from the living room. Leaving the dishes, he scrambled to the door. Then, just as Harry was reaching for the door, it unlatched itself and creaked open.  
  
"Harry Potter, I presume. I must ask you to come with me." The voice issued from a tall man dressed in a set of tan robes. His hair was tidy and brown, and he had on a face mask that blocked most of the facial features of the man. "I must also ask you to bring your wand with you. This is a most dire situation that we are in."  
  
Moments later, Harry found himself rushing upstairs for his wand, followed by the man. "Okay have every thing? Good,-"- the man pulled an old rusty hammer from beneath his robes and gestured for Harry to move closer to him-"-this is a portkey, now on the count of three-"-Harry grabbed the wrench-"one-two-three-"  
  
Harry felt himself get yanked from his feet as the room around him disappeared in a swirl of motion. He was flying across space, in a record time. Desperately, he gasped for breath and found none. Then, just as quickly as he had been taken off the ground, he felt his knees buckle as he smashed into the ground.  
  
Harry teetered on his feet dizzily for a few moments and fell to the ground uselessly. Slowly, he got to his feet as the world around came into view. He was standing on a floating platform, and all around him, he could see other platforms like his surrounding a broken fortress on a bare island. It was then that he saw who he was standing with. By his side Dumbledore stood watching the castle intently. On his other side was the entire Order of the Phoenix. Behind him stood the man who had taken him from the home of his only living relatives.  
  
Harry gaped at the scene; thousands of wizards surrounded the lone castle, which emitted darkness from it. Finally, Dumbledore spoke, "Hello, Harry. Welcome to Azkaban Wizarding Prison."  
  
It took Harry some time to respond to one of the greatest wizards who ever lived, "What are we doing here?"  
  
But it was not Dumbledore who answered his question but it was Remus Lupin, "It's terrible Harry, it really is but as strange as it seems the dementors of Azkaban are starving."  
  
"So what's the problem then?"  
  
"Harry, you've seen the power of the dementors before, but imagine something a thousand times worse. This is it Harry. Starving, the dementors abandon all reason and precautions and will do anything, eat anything as long as they can stop the hunger for souls."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Don't you get it yet? In their current state the dementors are killing machines! They will stop at nothing Harry. If they aren't stopped, they'll devour every single soul in the world until their hunger is filled up. They must be stopped before they begin their spree of terror."  
  
Harry looked at his former professor in horror. The truth of the mission had finally hit him. He looked at his fists. They must be stopped before they spread around the world, and Harry knew that he would have to give everything that he had to stop the dementors. He knew that he would not die here, he knew that he would either die fighting Voldemort, or live by killing him.  
  
He would dive into battle, risk his life go against endless odds and prevail. He knew that that was what would happen today. He knew that this would be his toughest battle yet. And yet somehow instead of cringing in fear, he was standing straight prepared for battle. He knew in his heart that the game had begun. 


	3. The Hunger of the Dementors

CHAPTER THREE- THE HUNGER OF THE DEMENTORS  
  
The darkness that surrounded the castle began to spread through the battle field. Meanwhile, Harry had been forming ways to kill dementors in his head. Next to him, Dumbledore was sucking on a lemon drop while watching the castle. There was an empty silence around the castle, and it seemed that every wizard was in deep concentration. The castle was eerily silent and Harry couldn't help but wonder why the dementors were waiting for so long.  
  
Suddenly, there was a loud boom as the dementors made their first attempt at breaking down the door that held them inside the ruined fortress. Harry hastily drew his wand from his pocket and by looking around saw that the other wizards had done the same.  
  
Boom! The dementors made another attempt at freeing themselves. The wizards that had not drawn their wands did so. Harry felt a hand grip his shoulder and pull him back from the front line. The man who had taken him here looked at him thoughtfully, "No, not yet. You're our back up, understand?"  
  
Harry nodded and stepped to the side so the man could take his spot. Lupin looked at him sadly and whispered, "For Sirius." Harry stared at him in puzzlement, what did he mean? Sirius had nothing to do with what was happening now. So why had Lupin mentioned him.  
  
Clouds began to form in the sky, and Harry wondered if it was going to rain. Looking to the platform next to his, Harry could recognize a few of the wizards as workers for the Ministry of Magic. The clouds grew thicker and darkened to a dark grey. Boom! Boom! Boom! The bangs were becoming more frequent, and Harry knew it was only a matter of time before the dementors would escape.  
  
Dumbledore looked back at Harry, his kind eyes examining him. "It is almost time," he said to himself in a weak voice. He turned back to Azkaban, and pointed his wand at the door. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The door was beginning to rattle and shake as it was hit. Boom! Boom! Boom! The door began to splinter. Wizards around the castle began to cringe in fear.  
  
Harry looked at the sky, the nearly black clouds and the darkness of the dementors made it seem like it was nighttime. The bangs ceased for a moment and then, the door finally splintered to bits. Dumbledore flicked his wand and roared, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!!!"  
  
An enormous jet of blinding white light shot out of the tip of Dumbledore's wand, and continuously blasted the dementors back into the prison. Dumbledore's eyes were dead set and serious. Harry watched in awe as Dumbledore's patronus morphed into a gargantuan phoenix and sped at the weakened dementors. Quickly nearly half of the wizards on the platform launched their patronus' at the castle and suddenly the sky was flooded with blinding light. Everything from elephants to ants were storming at the dementors and Harry could see that the first group of dementors were about to fall apart when the castle suddenly disappeared in an explosion that rocked the platform on which Harry was standing.  
  
Harry watched motionlessly as wizards began to fall off of their respective platforms, knocked off by the movement of their platforms. Dementors began to spew out of the crater, in which the prison of Azkaban had once stood, endlessly. It's starting, Harry thought to himself as he saw the first line of dementors and wizards colliding with each other. Lupin was sending wisps of white vapor at the dementor uselessly. Harry could tell that Lupin was losing his consciousness quickly and that in a moment it was his turn for some action.  
  
Lupin fell over slowly as if in slow motion, and in an instant both he and the dementor were spiraling downwards into the icy waters of the ocean. Lupin had grabbed onto the dementors dark and torn robes and taken it down with him. Now it was Harry's turn for battle. The dementor came at him quickly, and Harry barely had time to whisper, "Expecto Patronum."  
  
To Harry's surprise, a large stag charged at the dementor, impaling it on its antlers. To his left Mundungus Fletcher teetered dangerously on the platforms edge as a dementor crashed into him, knocking onto his back. It tore its hood back, revealing a rotting human face with no eyes and a venomous looking mouth. The head moved forward into Mundungus' face and ripped the front of his face completely off. Suddenly the dementor fell forward uselessly as Bill Weasly held his wand at its head.  
  
Bill's hair wasn't in its usual ponytail but was flying freely in his eyes, "Hello Harry, how are you?"  
  
Harry had no time to respond as another dementor had flown at him. Sending a patronus at the demon, he spun around and blasted another dementor in the back. "This is getting annoying," he called to Bill as he ducked a stray duck patronus.  
  
Another explosion rocked the area and Harry felt the platform under him suddenly disappear. No, it hadn't disappeared; he had fallen off of it. He was falling towards the ground at a dangerous speed, and using his Seeker agility, Harry changed his momentum as to hit the water instead of the ground.  
  
He hit the water amazingly fast and the next thing he knew, he was underwater desperate for air. Water flooded his lungs and Harry saw the dead bodies of other wizards underwater. He couldn't tell how deep down he was but he started swimming towards the light ignoring the aches all over his body. His vision began to darken and he started to feel light headed. Still, he was going up. Up to the light. His mind began to fade to darkness, but Harry knew that he was almost there. Then, he could breath again.  
  
Splash! Harry broke through the surface. His lungs were on fire and his limbs were going numbed, but he could breath and that was what mattered. There was chaos all around him. Wizards were dropping, like flies, into the water. Quickly, Harry crawled onto the shore where he lay motionless until when he opened his eyes, he found that he was being circled by dementors. They all had their hoods down, revealing their ghastly faces. Harry stared at them in horror, his glasses were smashes and useless to him now.  
  
His happiness was disappearing. Harry lifted his hand slowly, unaware that his wand was not in it. He knew that this was not how he died. Rejuvenated, he focused on the fact that Sirius was alive and screamed at the top of his lungs, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!!!"  
  
Everything was engulfed in light the dementors around his had been vaporized, and the ground below his disappeared in a shockwave of pure, raw energy. Harry's vision started to blur, and he plunged into the icy clutches of the sea. He felt his glasses drift from his face and his mind drifted into peaceful darkness, with him looking up through the surface waters. This is not how I die. I die fighting Voldemort, he thought darkly to himself, though he did not understand himself.  
  
Slowly a face drifted into his mind. Was it Sirius? The head started to talk to him, "Fight, Harry, fight. You've got to survive!" Slowly the head too drifted away, and Harry gave one last strong kick of his legs. Then he finally remembered no more.  
  
Suddenly, a man was screaming. The room in which he was kept was dark, but something was killing him. Soon, the man thought to himself, soon. It drifted to darkness once again.  
  
Voldemort was lying on a bed, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Green blood was pouring from hi s mouth and nose. The sickness had finally gotten to his body. Yet still he was mesmerized, and captivated by it. He realized then, that he would soon need the Alchemist's Cell. 


	4. An Interlude

CHAPTER FOUR- AN INTERLUDE  
  
There was an awkward silence in the Burrow, and the Weasley's sat around their wizarding radio, patiently waiting for news from the battle front. Ron was sitting on the floor in front of the radio. Not only were his father and two oldest brothers fighting in the struggle to stop the dementors, but his best friend was fighting too.  
  
Behind him, his two older twin brothers, Fred and George, were laying sprawled out on two battered armchairs. His mother and sister, Ginny, were sitting their respective sides of the radio, both looking as though they were ready to kill the next person that spoke.  
  
The only news that they had received so far was that the battle had begun and 67 wizards were dead or missing their souls so far. The newscaster had also said that Cornelius Fudge was being rushed to St. Mungo's after falling from his floating platform after trying to stun a dementor.  
  
"BS," Fred muttered to George, "he probably just fainted when the dementors escaped from inside."  
  
Someone knocked on the front door, and Ron got up from his seat on the floor. The second he opened the door, he was instantly tackled by a girl with bushy hair.  
  
"Hermione, what are you doing here?" Ron asked as soon as her pushed her off of his chest.  
  
Hermione responded immediately, "Dumbledore sent me here, he just apparated in my house and asked my parents if he could take me here."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"He didn't tell me when I asked. He just told me it was urgent."  
  
By then the rest of the occupants of the Burrow had stepped into the kitchen to see what all the commotion was. For a moment there was a stunned silence and then Mrs. Weasly spoke, "Hermione, dear what are you doing here."  
  
Hermione told them briskly and slowly everyone retreated to around the radio. There they sat for hours listening for the slightest details. Darkness began to creep over the Burrow, and Mrs. Weasly lit candles in the living room and kitchen. "That's funny, its only 3 o'clock. It shouldn't be dark yet," Hermione told Ron quietly.  
  
Moments later, everyone slowly lost all the optimistic thoughts left in their minds. Ron slowly lifted his wand out of his pocket. Slowly, Hermione and Ginny did the same.  
  
"Brace yourselves," commanded Ron.  
Something crashed in the kitchen and all three of them cast a Patronus charm at the same time. At an amazing speed, an otter, a tiger, and a rat all sped into the kitchen. There was another crash and a blinding flare of light as the twins sent their patronus into the kitchen too.  
  
They stood still for a moment and then collapsed onto the floor. The kitchen door clicked open as three wizards walked into the room.  
  
"Dad!" Fred, George, and Ron cried collectively.  
  
Mr. Weasly, Bill, and Charlie were standing in the doorway looking extremely tired and beaten. Hermione looked inquiringly at them and asked, "Mr. Weasly, what happened?"  
  
It wasn't Mr. Weasly that answered, but Bill, "Its' over, we lost. Nearly half of the forces are dead, and-"-Bill looked like he was on the verge of tears, and simply looked down at his feet.  
  
It was Mr. Weasly who finished Bill's sentence, "Harry's gone."  
  
Charlie dropped something onto the floor, and started to whimper softly. Hermione dropped to the floor and started sobbing loudly. Ron simply stared blankly into space, unable to speak. Fred and George looked blankly at the object that had fallen to the floor.  
  
"Those are-" George was cut off by Ginny's cries.  
  
Bill nodded, "-Harry's glasses, all that we found of him." 


	5. Gaining Tension

CHAPTER FIVE- Gaining Tension  
  
The hungry dementors had spread throughout Great Britain, and the ministry was doing anything in it's power to put an end to it. Every remaining ministry wizard was sent out, patrolling the land and protecting as many people as possible. Inside the Burrow, everyone was in a state of constant denial.  
  
"I won't believe it, I won't!" Ginny wailed, pounding her fists on the kitchen table. Ron still stared blankly into space, unaware that he was sticking his hand into his bowl of soup. Meanwhile, Mr. Weasly and his older sons were constantly running through and around the house, protecting it from the dementor menace.  
  
In the basement, something stirred in the darkness.  
  
"It'sssss almost time," it hissed in the darkness. Slowly it crawled towards the kitchen.  
  
"Master, I'm sorry! I just, just couldn't control them when they were hungry!" Bellatrix had returned from Azkaban unsuccessfully, the mission a complete failure. Voldemort was sprawled on the floor, laying in a bloody heap. Raising his head in a pained expression, he spoke, "No, it doesn't matter anymore. For now, focus our efforts on the boy."  
  
"The Potter boy?" Bellatrix asked curiously.  
  
"No, you fool. The other one!"  
  
"You mean the-"-she was cut off by her master's cries of pain.  
  
"Yes! Now begin, leave me! NOW!!!"  
  
The candle that lit the room burst into pieces as the surge of power from Voldemort's outburst had spread through the castle. Bellatrix immediately ran from the room, yelping as the wave of power hit her like a ton of bricks. Voldemort crawled to the door and shut it. Blood was now flowing openly from his nose, mouth, and ears. Clutching his stomach, Voldemort struggled to pull himself up from the floor.  
  
"It's coming faster than I thought," he told himself, "Hopefully, she will find the boy soon."  
  
The last bits of light faded from the room, and were accompanied by a complete and utter silence.  
  
Dumbledore walked silently between the straight rows of bodies, lost during the battle. The dementors had come out of the battle victorious, and many of England's best wizards had perished in the struggle. He approached the remaining order members, all of whom were suffering an injury of some sort. He spoke slowly, deep in thought, "Here is where our true battle begins. This is our plan..."  
  
Harry felt his hand grasp for something. Then slowly he felt his consciousness return to him. Moving his arm, he felt a liquid envelop it. A hand quickly grabbed him by the back of his robes, and the next thing he knew, he was being pulled away from the beach by someone.  
  
The journey seemed to take forever, and when he finally stopped, Harry was on a material which felt like hard stone bricks. He was somewhere very, very bad, but he was unaware of it at the moment. Suddenly, Harry was lifted up by the arms on to what felt like a muggle operating table, and began to feel his limbs constricted by straps of metal. Soon, he would feel the worst pain in his life.  
  
Inside the Burrow, the dark creature had crept into a woman's shadow. It was nearly the time to strike. 


End file.
